The Mockingjay Is Captured
by SchoolEvaporatedMyMind
Summary: Katniss is dazed and weak by the fifth day of the 74th Hunger Games, and doesn't notice Cato until she runs straight into him. He captures her and brings her back to the Career camp, where she has to face Peeta.


**The Mockingjay Is Captured**

Katniss' feet felt heavy, like her boots were filled with lead. She had to chant things to herself to keep herself from stopping. _Peeta is a traitor. Bread is delicious. Buttercup is a cat._Her head perked up when she heard the soft sound of a bunny running on the forest floor. Should she chase it? What if she couldn't land a kill? Then she would have wasted energy and time. Oh what the heck, she'd probably die soon enough anyways, might as well be on a full stomach.

She began running slowly through the woods, not feeling the chase at all, her senses weak and her eyes on the ground. All of a sudden she ran smack into something, and fell on her rump. She blinked her eyes hard, trying to stop herself from blacking out.

"Look who it is!" Cato's deep voice said, in surprised tone. "The famous Girl on Fire... it's an honor to meet you at last."

Katniss looked up at the six and half feet of pure muscle above her. "Oh god... Cato, please." She stood up shakily, backing up against a tree. She was completely at his mercy now, and the chances she'd make it out of this encounter alive were slim.

"What, aren't you staying?" Cato mused. "Don't you wanna... get to know me?"

Katniss gulped, terrified. She couldn't outrun him with the ground feeling like jelly, and there was no way he'd give her an opportunity to grab her bow. This was probably it.

Cato patted his sword. "What happened to your flames, girly? Where'd they go?"

"Cato. Please. I'm begging you."

Cato strolled up to her, stopping a few inches from her face. She could smell his pungent odor. "Oh, don't worry Katniss. I'm not going to hurt you. Let's take a walk... I bet you're dying to see lover boy."

Katniss choked a little. She didn't want anything to do with Peeta, especially after the way he so heartlessly killed the girl on the first night. It seemed everything before the Arena was a show, and this was the real him. She suddenly realized Cato was offering to spare her life, at least for now.

Cato turned around, but kept his eyes on her. "Aren't you coming? Lover boy seemed... lonely."

"W-what are you saying?"

Cato shrugged. "Oh, I don't know... he hasn't been responding for a few days. I'm sure you'll help us get him to come around. Come on, get on your feet. Remember, if you try to run, I'll kill you before you take two steps."

Katniss began to slowly follow him. "The Careers are gonna kill me, aren't they?"

"Depends on how you behave. Rumor has it the other girls don't like you much. Say you got too much attention before the Games started."

Katniss couldn't help but grin, feeling grateful for having company even though he was probably going to kill her soon. "I couldn't help that. I didn't choose to have an awesome designer and escort." She knew she wasn't scoring herself any points by not mentioning Haymitch.

Cato squinted at her. "What are you trying to do? If you think you're gonna distract me, it's not going to work."

"I'm not. You're taking me to the boy I'm 'desperately in love with', so why would I try to run away?"

Cato looked at her suspiciously, urging her to walk faster. "I don't know. Just shut up and walk."

Katniss nodded, trying to play along. She kicked rocks and pointed out birds overhead, attempting to buy herself time. This was probably the highlight of the Games so far. Five days in and the Girl on Fire was already captured.

Cato led her to the plain, and the other Careers looked at them and jumped up excitedly, grabbing weapons. "Easy, guys! We're not going to hurt her."

Katniss tried to hide behind Cato's giant form.

"There he is, girly. Sitting on the same rock for the last two days, refusing to eat, drink, or even get up. It'd be easy to get rid of him now, but we planned to do that later anyways. So work your magic, and we might let you live. If not, we'll kill you both."

Katniss cautiously moved towards Peeta, who stared vacantly to the distance. Clove and Glimmer stared at her, weapons drawn and hateful looks on their faces. Marvel and another, younger boy sat at a tent, organizing supplies. "Peeta? Hey, Peeta. It's me. It's Katniss." She gently shook his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "Peeta!" she whispered. "What the hell are you trying to do? You're going to get us both killed!"

"Well?" Cato urged.

"I'm trying!" Katniss said desperately. "Peeta! You've gotta listen to me! I don't know about you but-"

She was interrupted when Peeta grabbed her face and pulled her in for a kiss. After the initial shock, she pushed him away. "Damn you, Peeta!" she yelled. Cato perked up, a look of satisfaction on his face.

Katniss battled her emotions, stepping backwards. Peeta stood up, pulling her in for a hug. Before she could push him away, he began talking in her ear. "This place is rigged with mines. I'm putting on an act, I'm not really on their side. I needed to get you here to tell you that." He pulled away, and nodded at Cato like nothing was the matter.

"Wow, that was truly touching." Cato said, pretending to wipe a tear. He looked at Clove and Glimmer, who just continued to radiate hate. "Should we let her live?"

"Hold up, Cato." Katniss said. "You promised."

"Yeah, well, I'm going back on my promise. I'll make you a deal, Girl on Fire. You both stay, help us out. When we're all the last ones, we'll kill you quickly. How's that?"

Katniss closed her eyes. She should have known this was too good to be true. Who would have thought, both Tributes from District 12 working with the Careers. Cato stuck out his hand, smiling wickedly. He knew he'd already won. Katniss turned back to look at Peeta, but he wasn't there. "Peeta?"

She located him walking towards a mound of dirt on the edge of the supply pile. He looked back at her, calmly. She turned back to Cato. "I think you'd better run."


End file.
